Argumentative Essay On Homeless Veterans

Envision a man that sat on a grimy concrete block, as nightfall began to crystallize before his eyes. His hair, charcoal-grey, was matted and straggly, as if he had ever known the pleasure of a hot shower or comb except when he was in the war. His once shimmering brown eyes were know hollow and cold. His eyes, that were once filled with the upmost blissfulness, now sagged like the bulky bags underneath his eyes, consumed by the loneliness and despair he felt for himself, for his lack of purpose in life. This man did not bare a smile, only crinkles where one used to be. He wore his only faded blue jacket with a tan shirt tucked underneath it. He wore cruddy worn out jeans that barely seized his thin waist and boney legs. His only pair of shoes that were once white, we're now grungy. His finger nails were bitten and dirty. This man, like many other homeless veterans, struggle everyday of their lives.

Because many homeless people are overlooked as "beggars", many people fail to realize that every homeless person has a different story on how they became homeless, many of the people that are homeless are actually veterans, and many of these homeless veterans just need some help, someone to show they care.

This man, that is

described, is a man by the name of James Haley. James Haley was born in Los Angeles, California on the 13th of November in 1955. He joined the U.S. Army and was in combat for two years. He became homeless at the age of forty-four, after losing his mother to breath cancer, and father to stomach cancer. The lack of work also contributed to him becoming homeless. He used to recycle back in the beginning 2000s, but had stopped. He recently took the bus to a place for Veteran's on Wilshire, in hopes of obtaining money. However he was turned away and told by the people that they would get back to him.
Haley currently resides at Leon H. Washington Park and has been in that area since 1972. There are currently eight people that sleep in the park. When it rains, Haley sleeps against the wall with his five covers to stay dry. During the interview, Haley stated that his, "Hip is going out from laying on the concrete" and he "needs to get off the streets" (Haley). Haley goes to sleep at six o'clock in the evening every night and wakes up at five o'clock every morning to start his day. The reason he states for going to sleep so early is that, "It's too dangerous at night" (Haley). Earlier this year, Haley had an incident that occurred in the park. He was helping out fellow homeless people that did not appreciate it. Because he would not buy them a can of beer, they severely beat him. As he stated, "They beated me with bricks, sticks, and stomped me out" (Haley). After the incident, he was immediately rushed to General Hospital where he ended up in a coma for a week, but thankfully recovered. However, due to his injuries, his vision suffered to the point to where he can barely see.
During the interview, I asked Haley how many pieces of clothing he owned in which he indicated that he owns one jacket, four shirts, three pair of pant, one pair of shoes, one pair of gloves, and one pair of socks. In the park, it is very difficult for James Haley to keep up with his clothes since other homeless people steal them. He stated that he just recently had his covers stolen. He bathes in the restroom at the park with hot water. Haley sometimes stay with family or friends for about a day or two before he has to go back to the park. He eats one meal a day that he receives from a church van that comes to bring him food.
As the interview came to a close, Haley talked about other homeless people. He stated, "I met a lot of good homeless people, and many didn't choose to be homeless" (Haley). He said the reason why many families do not help their homeless family members is because the families are crowded themselves. The reason his family does not want to help, he said, "Is because I'm used to it" (Haley). After all, he has been homeless almost my whole lifetime. When asked what he would say to encourage those not to become homeless, his response was, "I'll tell them to look at me, don't do it. It's not worth it, and it's super dangerous" (Haley). According to Haley, if you have a choice, be sure to make the right one.
James Haley is a longtime friend of mine. He has known me since I was a little girl and I spent a great deal of time growing up around him. He has spent a night at my house a few times, and I have even lended my room to him. We often would go to the store or park together where we just took the time to enjoy life. A few years ago, I even went to the store and bought him two or three outfits for his birthday. I am currently planning on taking him shopping and inviting him to spend the night again because he is not just some homeless man to me, he is a part of my family.
There are so many homeless veterans in the United States and the numbers continue to increase.

In the article, Numbers, it states, that the estimated number of homeless veterans in the United States was 200,000 (Lamarque). This article was based on the statistics of homeless veterans from 2006, meaning the number of homeless veterans has increased. This statistic represents how many veterans are homeless and how much is not being done about it. According to Veteran's Inc, between 529,000 and 840,000 veterans are homeless at sometime during the year. This means that since 2006, the number of homeless veterans have doubled, possibly even quadrupled over the past few years. Homeless veterans make up a huge portion of the homeless

community.
Stated on Veteran's Inc, it also said that on any given night, more than 300,000 veterans are living on the streets or I'm shelters in the United States. In one night, thousands of veterans do not have a home, forcing them to turn to the streets or shelters. This statistic shows how poorly veterans are treated by the government when they are the ones fighting for their country. The government does not do enough for these veterans. There are overcrowded VA hospitals all over the United States in which many lack the funding they really need to help those people. The government spends a great deal of time and money on training killers and buying the equipment they need to carry out such killings. However, do not untrain these soldiers out of the killing mindset or really help them out financially, especially when they sacrificed their family and body parts for their country.
The solution to solving homelessness among veterans is first acknowledging them as true heroes. We, Americans, like to think we appreciate our veterans, but the sad truth is that most of us really do not. Yes, we have Veteran's Day, but many do not even care about it, they just see it as a day out of school or a day off of work without truly embracing th significance of it. The fact that a Kardashian can get a million likes on social media while a veteran barely gets a thousand is unjust and unfair. The second step is to stop labeling every homeless person as unintelligent or needy because many of them are very intelligent with degrees, but took the wrong turn in life. We have to start seeing others as actually people, instead of as a group. The final step is the government needs to fund veterans more. Instead of waisting millions of dollars on the military, use some of that money to help veterans by building more VA hospitals, having better medical equipment, provide therapy for those that need it, and most importantly, help them get back on their feet by giving them the money they need to prevent them from being homeless.
Overall, homelessness among veterans is a huge problem. Like James Haley said, it is not something many people choose. Being homeless is an every day hardship and it can even lead to violence. Homelessness can cost you your life, if you are not lucky, it almost did in Haley's case. The government should be doing more for these veterans and the fact that they are not is very unjust. There is no way a veteran should ever be homeless, especially after they gave their life to fight for their country. Until the government acknowledges that more needs to be done for veterans, the numbers of homeless veterans will continue to rise.